Time reference markers in KiVunjo-Chaga

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to describe the time reference markers in KiVunjo-Chaga, a language spoken in north-eastern Tanzania. Very little is known about Chaga dialects, and this study aims at initiating a systematic approach which distinguishes the various aspects of the temporal reference system of Chaga dialects. Owing to the contrainst of this paper, the A. has limited his study to the description of only those verbs forms which are inflected for Tense/Aspect and which function as independent main verbs in a sentence. Negative verb forms are also excluded from the present description. The account presented in this paper is a small part of on-going research which will result in a reference grammar of KiVunjo-Chaga and which can be used as a basis for the description of the remaining dialects in the continuum of Chaga languages